GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPICE OF PITTSBURGH
134 Marwood Rd, Cabot, PA 16023 www.good-samaritanhospice.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: The mission is to establish and maintain programs which provide supportive care for terminally ill patients and their families; and to provide associated services including, but not limited to, operations of a non-profit hospice. The goal is to empower the community to understand the blessings of hospice and how the service can help those in an extremely difficult time in their lives. For fiscal year ending 06/30/2019, a total of $34,244 in services was rendered as benevolent care.

Home Hospice/Nursing: Establish and maintain programs which provide supportive care for terminally ill patients and their families; and to provide associated services including, but not limited to, operation of a Non-Profit Hospice.

Good Samaritan Hospice (GSH) remains dedicated to excellent patient/family care, ethical practice in the management of funds and community activities contributing to improved quality of life. GSH is part of a large continuum striving to care for people in their homes, avoid rehospitalizations, and provide compassionate support to their families. The foundation of hospice is comfort care - managing pain and symptoms - to improve their overall quality of life while on their end-of-life journey. Short-term respite care is provided by nursing staff to alleviate the burden on family caregivers. Continuous (in-home) care is provided by a nurse or aide in the patient's home during crisis situations. GSH provided care to 1,173 patients and their families in the community in their homes and 1,079 patients and their families in the three GSH inpatient locations: Heritage Valley Beaver Hospital, Concordia at Cabot, and in the Hospice House in Wexford. In total, GSH provided 54,232 visits to our patients across all levels of care. Over the course of the past fiscal year, Good Samaritan Hospice Volunteers provided a total of 3,562 hours of service. At GSH we make every effort to ensure our patients and their families are as comfortable as possible, whether at one of our inpatient locations or with in-home visits. Each person in our care has individualized needs and requirements, so our approach to end-of-life care focuses on what is most important to them. The care at Good Samaritan Hospice goes beyond nursing care provided by nurses and aides. Volunteers are also available to provide personal care, companionship, and support to patients, caregivers, and families. These volunteers visit with patients, read to them, play music, provide pet therapy, spiritual support, speak with them in a preferred foreign language, and often simply grant a quiet, calm presence. They also visit or call on family members at home or at the funeral home after a patient has passed to comfort them in a time of bereavement. For those at end-of-life, bedside vigil or "Angels on Call" volunteers sit with patients and families during their last hours. GSH believes that emotional and spiritual pain is just as real and in need of attention as physical pain and so addresses each. Spiritual Care is offered to patients to ensure that every need is met at the end of their lives. Members of the spiritual care team are available upon request for both in-facility and in-home visitation. Good Samaritan Hospice offers bereavement support to patient families. Grief support groups were offered by Good Samaritan Hospice in three counties and were open to the community at no charge. In addition to phone contacts (initial/condolence and follow-up calls), four separate bereavement mailings were sent offering spiritual support, coping techniques and education to 1,592 hospice family members. A total of 42 grief support group sessions provided encouragement and assistance to approximately 100 participants. A special 2.5-hour Holiday Grief Workshop took place in December 2018 teaching individuals tips on getting through the holiday season. Additionally, the Bereavement Coordinator offered a presentation to a pediatric specialty care facility in Beaver County on the topic of professional caregiver grief. 230 individuals attended two separate Memorial Services this year to honor the lives of the patients who passed away under our care during the year. Our second annual Butterfly Release in the Beaver County community was held on August 18, 2018. This memorial event was open to anyone who wanted to honor and celebrate the memory of their loved ones, whether or not they were ever on service at GSH. The program included prayer, musical performance and participants releasing a total of 300 butterflies into the sky as a representation of letting go of their loved one into the hands of God. 15 volunteers assisted with the event. Camp Erin, a summer weekend bereavement camp for children and teens, serves the needs of families in our Southwestern Pennsylvania service area. This summer camp was a partnership of Good Samaritan Hospice, The Eluna Foundation (a national foundation dedicated to children in crisis), and Camp Kon-O-Kwee Spencer (our local YMCA camp). A total of 72 children ages 6-17 enjoyed this tuition-free overnight camp from Friday through Sunday. Camp was again a great success due to those who generously donated their time: 93 trained volunteers, of which 51 were the cabin Big Buddies, supported and encouraged the children. Volunteers donated over 5,000 hours of their time to train and make this three-day event a success. Family members and guardians joined the campers for the closing memorial service. Free tickets to a professional baseball game with the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, rounds out the camper's experience a month after camp. In November 2018, a camp reunion and community open house event was provided in honor of Children's Grief Awareness Day in order to spread the word about child and adolescent grief within the community and in Western Pennsylvania. Approximately 100 people attended and 10 volunteers participated in the program, which was 2 hours in length. GSH offered education at no cost to members of the community in order to provide knowledge and comfort to patients, families, healthcare workers and future healthcare workers. Hospice staff members provided information to over 281 individuals and their family members regarding their disease state, concerns, healthcare wishes and hospice and palliative care insurance options within the counties served, prior to their decision regarding care. It is estimated GSH tallied over 640 hours providing Hospice information and education. Students preparing to become Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses were also offered educational opportunities. Education was provided by offering nursing program students rotations at one of our 3-inpatient facility locations. This education was provided to nursing students from Chatham University, Citizen's School of Nursing, Concordia University, Beaver Valley Community College School of Nursing, and Lenape Technical School of Nursing. A total of 681 hours of professional training was offered to nursing students free of charge. The following, but not limited to, have received direct financial support from GSH through donations and sponsorships of events during the tax year: Armstrong County Memorial Hospital Foundation, Beaver County Blind Association, Butler Health System Foundation, Concordia Lutheran Ministries Foundation Young at Heart Committee Charitable Fund, Heritage Valley Beaver Foundation, and Middlesex Township Volunteer Fire Company. Total donations and sponsorships during the fiscal year equated $10,798. Additional indirect contributions have been through donations to 501(c)(3) member hospital systems at a total of $2,500,000 to help expand like-minded mission within the geographical communities that we serve. The management company, Concordia Community Support Services, has a Mission Committee that organizes mission events during the fiscal year. Good Samaritan Hospice employees have the opportunity to participate in these events throughout the year. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, GSH employees participated in a Fleece Blanket Mission Event where employees volunteered during their lunch break to cut and tie fleece blankets that were donated to families at the Ronald McDonald House in Pittsburgh, PA. Materials for the blankets were provided by Good Samaritan Hospice. They also participated in the Give Thanks in a Tote event where thanksgiving meal supplies, a gift card and an encouraging devotion were placed in a tote and given to the families of patients under our care. These events are some of the ways we serve God by providing for the needs of His people.

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